Boys, Girls, Clothes and Hugs.

I learnt some scary things this week. Firstly, Mrs BD went to the M+S Sale in Western Road and found that there were LOADS more clothes in the sale for Harriet than for William - why is that?

The pattern seems to be repeated in many other stores across the city. More choice for girls than boys. Why???

I have a theory. We males think that clothes are to a) keep warm, and b) avoid being naked. On Venus, that just doesn't wash - clothes are actually a leisure pursuit, and a source of pleasure.

The second thing that shocked me was learning that although up to the age of one, boys and girls receive equal amounts of physical contact such as hugs, after that, girls get SEVEN TIMES AS MUCH as boys!

Deeply worrying, and it made me determined to hug both my kids as much as possible.

I heard a very poignant quote yesterday: "Children need 7 hugs a day to survive, 14 hugs a day for good mental health, and 21 to grow."

Now there's a challenge...